Tulane Green Wave baseball loses to Wright State, 12-6

Tulane went into its four-game weekend series against winless Wright State looking for some traction for its young season. Instead, the Green Wave's ace was shelled, the fielding was shaky, a potential rally was killed by an inning-ending double play and last season's top hitter was on the shelf.

It added up to a 12-6 defeat Friday at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium, giving the Green Wave (3-3) its poorest start since 1999.

The teams will play a doubleheader starting today at noon and a game Sunday at 1 p.m.

"Now is the time we'll see what we're made of, " Tulane senior second baseman Seth Henry said. "Everybody has to face adversity. It's how you deal with it that matters."

Tulane had its share of adversity to deal with Friday.

Starting pitcher Conrad Flynn, who allowed five hits and one run last week, was hit hard -- nine hits in 4 2/3 innings, including a three-run homer by Jeff Mercer in the third inning that gave Wright State a 7-1 lead.

Wright State, which batted .207 in being swept last week at Texas A&M, had 12 hits, nine off Flynn, including another homer in the fourth.

In the first inning, Tulane outfielders Andrew Rodgers and Nick Boullosa misplayed consecutive two-out fly balls. Both dropped in for doubles, giving Wright State its second run of the inning.

In the third, Tulane chased starter Jon Durket, scoring three runs -- with Sam Honeck's two-run double down the right-field line being the key hit.

But with the bases loaded and one out, Rodgers hit a comebacker to pitcher Alex Kaminsky, who turned it into an inning-ending double play.

Rodgers was pulled in favor of Drew Allain in the fourth, although Green Wave Coach Rick Jones said it was for defensive reasons.

Rob Segedin, who led the team in hitting last season, was held out of the game due to back spasms that had curtailed his ability to play in the field or pitch as he did last season. Whether or not Segedin can play today will be a game-time decision.

While giving credit to Wright State, Jones said he was disappointed in his team's performance.

"They outplayed us in every way, " he said. "They outhit us, ran the bases better, they pitched better and wore us out pretty good. I knew this was going to be a difficult game, but we didn't challenge them like we should have."

Flynn, Jones said, left too many balls up in the zone.

"He knows that, " Jones said. "With the wind blowing out, Wright State had some good swings on it. But Conrad didn't have the ball down enough tonight to counter that. That happens sometimes, and tonight it happened to him."

There were some bright spots for Tulane. Boullosa, a .125 hitter last season as a freshman, continued his hot hand with three hits, including his first career home run, raising his average to .470.

Taylor Rogers had two perfect innings in relief.

And freshman Evan Mistich, in his first plate appearance, delivered a ground-rule double that started a two-run ninth inning.

"We're going to have a game where we break out a little bit, " Jones said. "Right now, though, it's important that we are held accountable to what we believe in. That's pounding the strike zone, get the sure out and put pressure on their defense. It's easy to maybe forget that sometimes when you were in the situation we were in today, but we've got two games tomorrow against this same ballclub."